A sharp click of the lock’s pressure plate being shifted into the active
position preceded the click of the
door as the three of them entered the cluttered Laboratory, closing it securely
after themselves. Whirring, thunking, buzzing, and snapping, the myriad
materials wound about their metallic substrate, ampules flowing into casks
powered by crystals emitting auras invisible to the eye. Noisily, the
laboratory undertook the kinds of scientific endeavors only possible with the
liberal application of magic. A pool in the corner of the nearest sub chamber
emitted a gentle blue glow, catwalks crossing the surface beneath a suspended
mechanical manipulation device. More crosswalks and access paths danced through
the tall rooms, sometimes bridging into higher levels of chambers further in.

The Causeway’s point of entry had
lain unchanged for millennia, countless planar scars having torn a rift large
enough that the Academy had since stabilized it for use as a large-scale gate.
It unceremoniously spat out the three intruders, Razel hunching down and
leading them behind a waist-high island built as a staging area for any gear
the hunters may need. A Dias encircled the gate, running straight to the edge
of the four islands built along the curve before dropping roughly a foot to the
floor proper. Formed stone seamlessly flowed from floor to wall to ceiling,
while the tall arch leading to the rooms beyond sat on the far side of the room
from them.

Foam crashed onto the sharpened
spires, waves beating the stony shore. The stones receded into sand, a beach
leading into the line of trees as sounds of natural life harmonized with the
tides. Ophelia leaned against a loping tree, large husky seeds looming above
her.Sea air and jungle nature, scents
she could never tire of. A particularly loud crash deposited her informant in
the middle of the stretch of sand, the floating disc accompanying him
supporting a large crate full of documents and materials. The Madam strut into
the sand, smiling sweetly, if insincerely.